Terms of Sale

Terms of Subscription to Pet Health Club® and Pet Health Club Plus®

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1. Terms and conditions

1.1 What these terms cover. These are the terms and conditions on which you may join and use Pet Health Club® and Pet Health Club Plus ("PHC Plus"). These terms include important information - please read them carefully. We recommend that you print a copy of these terms for future reference. By joining and using Pet Health Club® and PHC Plus, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these terms. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not join or use Pet Health Club® and PHC Plus. The terms for both plans are the same, except for the additional terms applying to PHC Plus. 

2. Information about us and how to contact us

2.1 Who we are. We are Independent Vetcare Limited, trading under the name below.

2.2 Our company details. Our company details are as follows:

2.3 How to contact us. You can contact us by post, email or telephone as follows:

2.4 How we may contact you. If we have to contact you we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us when you register with us.

3. Our contract with you

3.1 Pet Health Club® is only available for pets that are registered at a participating practice. A list of participating practices is available on our website.

3.2 You can apply to join Pet Health Club® in a participating practice or online at our website. Your subscription with Pet Health Club® is a contract between you and us (not between you and the participating practice) and is subject to these terms. That contract comes into existence, and your subscription starts, when we or the practice confirms to you that we have accepted your application.

3.3 You are responsible for registering your pet at a participating practice. Your registration with a participating practice is a contract between you and that practice (not between you and us) and is subject to their terms and conditions - please read them carefully before you agree to register with them. If your pet is not registered at a participating practice, you must do so within 30 days of us accepting your application to join Pet Health Club®. We do not promise that a participating practice will accept your registration.

3.4 You are responsible for ensuring your pet attends your chosen veterinary practice regularly for health checks, vaccinations and parasite control and that you comply with the advice and treatment your veterinary practice prescribes.

4. Pet Health Club®

4.1 Pet Health Club® is a preventative pet healthcare plan. It is not a pet insurance policy or intended to be a replacement for a pet insurance policy. We recommend that our clients take out appropriate pet insurance for their pet with a reputable insurer. We do not provide pet insurance or arrange pet insurance for our clients.

4.2 Your subscription is specific to your pet identified in your application. When you apply to join Pet Health Club® you will be asked to identify your pet. Your subscription is specific to that pet and cannot be used for any other pet or transferred to another pet.

4.3 Your subscription can only be used at your chosen practice. We may at our discretion agree to change your chosen practice to another participating practice (such as when you are moving house).  You can request a change in your chosen practice. We will endeavour to deal with your request within 14 days. If your chosen practice no longer participates in Pet Health Club®, we will let you know by post or email (including details of alternative participating practices in your area and your rights to cancel your registration).

4.4 The veterinary services and benefits that you will receive depend on your chosen plan. These are limited to the routine preventative healthcare treatments and discounts set out in the published details of the plan. We will provide you with details of the plans available when you register to join Pet Health Club®. Your subscription does not include any of the following:

• 4.4.1 The cost of consultations that may or may not precede clinical treatment;
• 4.4.2 Any treatment, drugs, medications or general health improvers (such as, but not limited to, vitamins or ‘nutraceuticals’) that is not expressly included in the published details of the plan that is deemed clinically necessary by your chosen practice in the event of illness (short-term or long-term) and injury;
• 4.4.3 Any food products (including, but not limited to, prescription and special dietary food);
• 4.4.4 Treatment provided by your chosen practice outside of normal surgery hours and/or outside of the surgery; and
• 4.4.5 Any treatment that continues after your subscription has been cancelled.

4.5 Veterinary services under your subscription will be provided by your chosen practice. Your contract for the performance of veterinary services will be between you and your chosen practice and is subject to their terms and conditions - please read their terms carefully before you agree to receive services from them. You will not be required to pay the practice for those veterinary services covered under your subscription (up to any limits set out in your chosen plan). You will be responsible for paying your chosen practice directly for veterinary services not included in your subscription.

4.6 We may make changes to the veterinary services and benefits under your subscription. We may do so annually when the contract automatically renews or during a contract year if any veterinary services or benefits under your subscription are no longer available and will let you know at least 30 days before the change will take effect. If you do not agree to the change, you may end the contract by letting us know at least 7 days before the date that the change will take effect.

5. Term of your subscription

5.1 Your subscription is an annual rolling contract. The price of your subscription is based on the provision of veterinary services and benefits over a 12-month period. Your subscription starts when we or the relevant practice confirms to you that we have accepted your application to join Pet Health Club® and continues for a 12-month period and then automatically renews for successive 12-month periods (each 12-month period being referred to in these terms as a “contract year”).

6. Your rights to end your subscription

6.1 Ending your subscription when you have changed your mind (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013). If you apply to join Pet Health Club® online, you have a legal right to change your mind and cancel your subscription immediately within 14 days of the date that we send you an email confirming that we have accepted your application. You do not have a right to change your mind where you have started using or you have received any benefits under your subscription, even if the cancellation period is still running.

6.2 Ending your subscription if you are unable to register your pet with a participating practice. You can end your subscription immediately if your pet is not registered at a participating practice and you are unable to do so within 30 days of us accepting your application to join Pet Health Club®.

6.3 Ending your subscription where your pet has died. You can end your subscription immediately if your pet dies.

6.4 Ending your subscription because you no longer wish to maintain your subscription. You can end your subscription at any time for any reason, including a change of services or a change of price.

6.5 Ending your subscription if you do not want it to automatically renew. If you do not want your subscription to automatically renew at the end of a contract year, you must let us know at least 7 days before the end of that contract year.

7. Consequences of ending your subscription

7.1 At the end of your subscription your contract with us will automatically terminate. You will no longer be entitled to any of the benefits or discounts under your subscription.

7.2 You will be entitled to a refund of the price paid for your subscription or to pay us additional charges as follows:

• 7.2.1 If you end your subscription under clause 6.1 or clause 6.2, or we end your plan under clause 9.1, we will refund any subscription fees that you have already paid for that subscription.
• 7.2.2 If you end your subscription under clause 6.3, the subscription will be terminated free of charge.
• 7.2.3 If you end your subscription under clause 6.4 or we end your subscription under clauses 9.2 or 9.3: (i) if the value of the veterinary services and discounts that you have received in that contract year is less than the amount that you have already paid us in that contract year, we will refund the difference to you; and (ii) if the value of the veterinary services and discounts that you have received in that contract year is more than the amount that you have already paid us in that contract year, we reserve the right to charge the  difference OR the remainder of the subscription fees for that contract year, whichever is less.

7.3 Ending of your subscription and your contract with us does not affect your registration and contract with your practice. Your rights to end your registration and contract with your practice depends on the terms of that contract.

8. How to end your subscription

8.1 You must tell us that you want to end your subscription by email to your chosen practice. Please provide your name, home address, details of your pet, details of the practice at which your pet is registered and, where available, your phone number and email address.

9. Our rights to end your subscription

9.1 Ending your subscription if you don’t or are unable to register your pet with a participating practice. We can end your subscription immediately if your pet is not registered at a participating practice and you don’t or are unable to do so within 30 days of us accepting your application to join Pet Health Club®.

9.2 Ending your subscription because of something you have done or not done. We can end your subscription immediately at any time for any of the following reasons:

• 9.2.1 if the information that you provided to us on registration is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading;
• 9.2.2 if your pet ceases to be registered with your chosen practice (or alternative practice that we have approved under these terms) except where your pet has died; or
• 9.2.3 if you break any of the terms of the contract, including if you do not make any payment to us when it is due and you still do not make payment within 7 days of us reminding you that payment is due.

9.3 Ending your subscription in any other circumstances. We may end your subscription at any time for any other reason. We will write to you to let you know at least 30 days before the contract ends.

10. If there is a problem with the services

10.1 How to tell us about problems. If you have any questions or complaints about your subscription or the veterinary services that your chosen practice has provided to you or about any of our staff, please speak to the veterinary practice directly or contact us at our email address or telephone number above.

10.2 How to tell us about problems with payments. If you have any questions or complaints about any payments under your subscription or your direct debit mandate, you can contact us at the e mail address or telephone number above. 

10.3 Summary of your legal rights. We are under a legal duty to supply services that are in conformity with this contract. See the box below for a summary of your key legal rights in relation to services product. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights.

11. Price and payment

11.1 You must pay the price for your subscription in advance in monthly instalments. You must pay the price for the first month to us by debit or credit card when we accept your application. After that, you must pay the price for each month to us by direct debit. We are unable to accept payments by cash, cheque, electronic payment (such as paypal) or bank transfer. We will provide you with a direct debit mandate (or a link to set up your direct debit online) when you apply to join Pet Health Club®. You must let us know about any changes to your direct debit details at least 14 days before your next payment is due.

11.2 We may take further action if your direct debit payment fails. If your direct debit payment has failed, we will re-present the payment request to your bank within 3 - 5 working days. If your direct debit payment has failed 3 times, we reserve the right at our discretion to terminate the contract immediately. We reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £10 for each failed direct debit payment to cover our additional administration costs.

11.3 We may increase or decrease the price of your chosen plan. We may do so annually when your subscription automatically renews or may also do so during a contract year if the cost of providing the benefits under your chosen plan substantially increase and will let you know at least 30 days before the change will take effect. If you do not agree to the change, you may end the contract by letting us know at least 7 days before the date that the change will take effect.

12. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

12.1 We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we materially fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the sales process.

12.2 We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury to human beings caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

12.3 Our liability to you is limited. Subject to the above exceptions, our liability to you for any damages, losses, claims, costs or expenses arising out of our supply of any products or services shall not exceed the total fees payable by you for your Pet Health Club® subscription and the veterinary services in question, even if the amount of professional indemnity insurance that we carry is higher.

13. How we may use your personal information

13.1 When you apply to join and participate in Pet Health Club®, we will collect personal data about you. We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Notice.

14. Other important terms

14.1 We may transfer this agreement to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.

14.2 You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree to this in writing.

14.3 Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.

14.4 If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

14.5 Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you but we continue to provide the products, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.

14.6 Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings. These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the English courts. If you live in Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Scottish or the English courts.

15. We may make changes to these terms

15.1 We may amend these terms from time to time. We recommend that you check them each time you use our website or place an order to make sure that you are aware and understand the terms that apply at that time.

15.2 These terms were most recently updated on 14^th May 2024.

Additional Terms for customers subscribing to PHC Plus plan

The above terms of sale apply both to PHC Essentials plan and the PHC Plus plan. Due to the different plan content additional terms of sale apply to client subscribing to PHC Plus.

PHC Plus is currently only available at participating PHC clinics. Please check https://www.thepethealthclub.co.uk/pet-health-club-plus for details.

These are the additional benefits of a PHC Plus health plan :

• Unlimited consultations

The complementary unlimited consultations cover both healthy and unwell pets and can be conducted by either a vet or a nurse, including postoperative examinations. ​Additional investigations and procedures, prescriptions, or treatments beyond these consultations are charged at standard prices. Specialist, referral, or out-of-hours consultations, are not included. Consultation fees associated with administering injections for chronic conditions are not included but discounted for PHC Plus members.

• Unlimited access to PawSquad

Access to online consultations 24/7 telehealth service operated by PawSquad included as part of your subscription to PHC Plus. PawSquad provides high-level advice in relation to emergency care for your pet, in accordance with its terms and conditions, available here: https://pawsquad.com/home . PawSquad is a third party provider and PHC cannot be responsible for any advice given by any member of the PawSquad team.

Upgrade or downgrade PHC Plus

Your upgrade is a change to pricing and benefits within your existing contract year. The subscription and renewal date remains the same.  Your plan automatically renews for successive 12-month periods on the subscription plan to which you have upgraded.  

One-off costs of your upgrade

Subscription upgrades are charged on a pro-rated basis. The price for upgrading will always be shared at the point of purchase before you confirm your upgrade. 

The one-off payment of your upgrade is based on the cost of the upgrade for the remainder of the current billing period. This is calculated as the cost of upgrading for the remaining billing period minus any credit owed for what has already been paid for your original subscription plan for that same period. 

• If you already have already paid for the next month or have a direct debit payment scheduled at the bank for your next subscription payment, the payment cannot be amended and will be the price of the original subscription plan that you had. 

• The one-off cost for upgrading in these circumstances will include the additional fee of the price difference of the plan you upgrade to minus the cost of the original plan.  

If you are unclear, on the one-off fee or upgrade cost, please contact customer service on 01225 489821.

Downgrade

You can downgrade from PHC Plus to PHC Essentials at least 14 days before the renewal of the plan to be downgraded. If you want to downgrade before the end of the 12-month contract period, the cancellation process in paragraph 7.2 applies. Call customer service on 01225 489821 if you wish to downgrade from PHC Plus to PHC Essentials. 

Consultation Usage Policy

As a PHC Plus member, you are entitled to an unlimited number of consultations with our clinical team. However, our clinical team's time is finite, and subject to availability. The clinic may have to move or re-book your appointment if the member of the clinical team you are booked to see is needed elsewhere for an emergency, or is unavailable on the day.

We expect you to act in good faith and our clinics reserve the right to prevent you from booking future consultations in the following circumstances:

• You book or attempt to book repeat consultations for the same condition for your pet
• You act in a manner that is rude, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, or insulting to our practice staff
• Any of the vets in our practice, in the reasonable exercise of their clinical judgment, concludes that you are not acting in good faith or that your booking is frivolous.

For customers with PawSquad included as part of their Plan

OFFER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1.    These terms

1.1   What these terms cover. These are the terms and conditions on which we operate, and you may participate in, the offer. 

1.2   Other terms that apply. The following terms also apply in the following circumstances:

2.    Information about us and how to contact us

2.1   Who we are. We are Independent Vetcare Limited, trading under the business name below. 

2.2   Our company details. Our company details are as follows:

2.3   How to contact us. You can contact us by post, email or telephone as follows:

3.   Your acceptance of these terms.

By participating in the offer, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these terms. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not participate in the offer. 

4.    Terms and conditions.

4.1   This offer entitles you to the added benefit of one 12-month free membership of PawSquad per household (the ‘Free Membership’) when you purchase a Pet Health Club plan before [ 11 April 2024 ]. 
4.2   The Free Membership will remain valid for 12 months from the date of activation of the Free Membership with PawSquad in all circumstances. 

4.3   You must activate the Free Membership within 30 days of the commencement date of your Pet Health Club Plan.

4.4   You will receive details of how to activate the Free Membership via email subsequently to your purchase of a Pet Health Club plan. You are required to activate the Free Membership via the PawSquad website using the website link provided in such email. No payment details are required when signing up to the Free Membership and the Free Membership does not auto renew when it expires. Establishing a PawSquad account via any other method will not apply the Free Membership from this offer.  

4.5   We reserve in all respects the right to discontinue at any time, for any reason and without notice this offer of Free Membership to Pet Health Club Plus members. 4.6 Users of the PawSquad service are subject to the PawSquad Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and Acceptable Use Policy, available here: https://pawsquad.com/home

4.7   The offer will be governed by English law and participants submit to the jurisdiction of the English courts.